Dead Set
by Blue Moon3
Summary: Twenty years after the end of Dead Ever After, Sookie is married with children and living a happy quiet life. Until an old flame turns up on her doorstep, bringing long dead feelings and problems with him. Sam/Sookie established relationship, implied Eric/Sookie
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **The Southern Vampire Mysteries, its characters and settings, are the intellectual property of Charlaine Harris. Though this runs to the books not the True Blood TV series, that belongs to HBO (Just in case). I make no profit from writing this.

**Dead Set**

**Chapter One**

It was a balmy night in the middle of summer. Even I had been too hot in the day, and I drink up the sun like a bee drinks nectar. I was dressed in a cool cotton tank top, grateful that working hard in the garden meant my arms were still trim and tanned. My denim cut-offs weren't as short as I used to wear, but that tends to happen when you become a Mom, and when you pass a certain age. But all in all, my hair was shiny smooth and sun kissed, my skin was a rich oiled tan and for my forty-five years I still looked pretty good.

Quiet moments were hard to come by, so I'd taken a spare few while the kids were finishing up their homework. The radio babbled softly in doors, but all else I could hear were the buzz of insects and the soft whisper of a breeze in the trees. I closed my eyes, savouring the feel of the marginally cooler air kissing my face. It seemed to be whispering my name.

"Beautiful as ever," the wind whispered next.

Except it wasn't the wind. It was a voice so familiar it made me ache with a sorrow I thought I'd shed a long time ago. Afraid that it was my imagination - and also afraid that it wasn't – I took a moment to breathe before I opened my eyes.

'Beautiful as ever' about summed it up. Eric hadn't changed a jot in twenty years. Though why this surprised me I couldn't imagine. Eric was a vampire, and I know he would always look the same. But everyone else had changed so much in the time since he went to Oklahoma, me included. Yet there he was, all six and a half foot of him, long blonde hair and a smile that could melt ice. I found the corners of my own mouth twitching into a matching smile, but my voice was wary as I said, "Eric. What are you doing back in Louisiana?"

"Not pleased to see me, lover?" he asked, walking towards me and starting up the porch steps. Despite the heat, he was dressed in dark jeans and a suit jacket. Absently I wondered if he had dressed up for me. "I've not been back long. You were high on my list of people to visit." He looked expectant. He wanted me to be grateful.

"That wasn't what I asked," I said carefully, listening closely for sounds of life within the house, wondering how long I had before the kids would come out to see where I'd gone.

"I am staying at Fangtasia, for the time being, though I will need to re-think my domestic arrangements. That is Pam's place now and it annoys her when I interfere. What am I doing in Louisiana?" He seemed to ponder the question for a little while, as he made his way closer to me. "Having been released from my bond to Freyda, it seemed the obvious place to go. Though from the welcome I've had, I am questioning that decision."

"Released from Freyda..." I said faintly, but any further comment was broken off when Adele clattered through the screen onto the porch.

"Mom, I'm done!" she was calling, her bare feet slapping on the boards as she ran towards me. The sight of a stranger looming over her mother stopped her in her tracks, blue eyes wide, instantly shy.

I held out my hand to my youngest, while watching Eric carefully. I was unsure how he'd react to the knowledge that I had children, though he must surely have guessed. Eric was watching Adele as closely as I was watching him. "Come here, baby girl. This is Mr Northman. He's an old friend of mine."

Adele slid up onto my lap. I can't hear him, her soft voice said in my head.

I know baby. "Mr Northman is a vampire, like Uncle Bill," I said aloud, knowing Eric would be suspicious if we remained silent too long.

'Uncle Bill' raised a smile, but he refrained from passing comment. Instead, the Viking took a final step forward and crouched down, so he didn't completely dwarf the pair of us. He held out a cool pale hand to my daughter. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Strackhouse."

I was about to encourage Addie mentally to take Eric's hand, but she was way ahead of me. Eric's pale hand engulfed her small tan one. "How come you knew I had Mom's name? Normally people think I have Daddy's name."

Eric grinned, his teeth brilliantly white even in the darkness. "You look more like a Stackhouse than a Merlotte. And this is a Stackhouse house. There have been Stackhouses here for generations."

I knew he was mocking me with my pride over my heritage. Well, hang him, my family were good people and I had every right to be proud.

"Are you going to invite me in, Sookie?"

Addie looked up at me expectantly. I like him, I heard clear as a bell, though I don't think she'd meant to let that slip. Of course she liked him. There was no resisting that charm when he turned it on. I drew a deep breath and stood, lifting Adele up onto my hip, though she was really getting too big. "Eric, would you like to come inside?"

"I would. Thank you."

I eased Addie back to the floor as we crossed the threshold. Eric was looking around him, no doubt noting the changes we had made and the many things that had stayed the same. "Now upstairs and brush your teeth. Make sure your brother does as well. And I'll know if you don't do it properly."

Addie was brimming with resentment that she had been dismissed from the company of this stranger, but at that moment I just couldn't give two hoots. Eric's marriage condition that I be spared the attention of the vampire community had made it much easier to keep Addie's 'gift' a secret, but I still didn't trust him not to exploit my only daughter if he found out.

In a New York minute I heard the clatter and thump of the kids racing towards the bathroom. Eric's eyes narrowed just a little, and that made me chuckle.

"Have a seat," I told him as we moved into the kitchen. "Can I get you a bottle of blood?"

"No thank you, I won't keep you long."

He sat there staring at me, and it washed over me again how he was exactly the same as he had been - charming and gorgeous, dangerous and inscrutable. "Ok, spill. Sam will be back in-"

"In about thirty minutes, I know. I've been keeping an eye on the house for a couple of nights." I thought quickly. Last night had been my turn to work late, and the night before had been family night where we all stayed home together. Even Hunter had come by briefly. Oh Lord, I thought, another 'gift' I have to hide. "So I will make this brief. Freyda has been killed by extremists in her home state. She was ... Unpopular amongst the humans. I won't go into details, but she was abducted and killed. The vampire authorities have been keeping the circumstances of her death quiet so as not to arouse attention in neighbouring kingdoms while a new monarch is chosen."

I sat back while that sank in. It had been so long since I'd needed to think about vampire politics. The only vampires I saw regularly these days were Bill and Pam, and they both knew better than to talk to me about that stuff. My head felt rusty as it creaked into gear, trying to keep up with what Eric was saying. "So your pre-nup?"

"Is void. Which means two things. Firstly, that I am free to see you as much as I want, and to come and go from Oklahoma as I please - though I am keeping a firm base there, the move turned out to be quite lucrative for me. And secondly, you are no longer under binding protection from vampires who wish to utilise your telepathy."

I sighed heavily, my head sinking into my hands. "I'm too old for this," I grumbled. It was a phrase I hated and had sworn on my thirtieth birthday I'd never use, but at this moment it was the God's honest truth. Forty-five was too old to be worrying about being enslaved by ruthless vampires. When I looked up again, Eric looked highly amused. "And what is so funny?" I asked, irritation sharpening my voice.

"I was just thinking how strange it is that humans place such value on youth. You were always beautiful and extraordinary. Twenty years have been like the blink of an eye for me, but to you it seems a great stretch of time. You are as beautiful and remarkable as ever."

I frowned at him. "Stop blowing smoke up my behind. You can't charm me like you used to, I'm too-" my sentence ended in a squeak as Eric moved at lightning vampire speed to take my hand, lifting it to his lips. My heart thudded as I saw his fangs had elongated and he was staring at my pulse point with a blatant hunger that I hadn't realised I'd missed.

"Say you're too old and I will bite. I can feel your body contradicting your words." He breathed in deep and smirked, his fangs reaching their full length as his eyes raked up my body to meet mine. He breathed deliberately, smelling the air. "I can smell the desire and the fear and the fairy."

I'm ashamed to say he was right. I love Sam and we were happy, had been all our married life - but there is nothing like a vampire when he gets that look in his eyes.

But then, with a hiss and a jerk, Eric had retreated again. He was scowling and examining his hand, then looked back at mine. "A silver wedding ring. Your husband has a cruel sense of humour."

"Sorry," I said quickly, "I forgot. It's not often I'm holding hands with a vampire these days."

Eric's ears pricked up. "It's time for me to go. I need to know that I am welcome here. It has been cruel on you, the way things ended, and for that I am sorry. But the circumstances have swung back in our favour." Though his teeth were back to a decent length, his eyes were still intense. "I have missed you, Sookie. More than I can say. And you won't believe it, but our parting was cruel on me as well."

He was right. I didn't believe him. But, naturally, he didn't leave me a chance to get a word in.

"May I come to your house again?"

"It's not like you to ask permission."

He cocked his head and made a proximate mimicking of my voice and tone. "That's not what I asked."

I had to laugh at that. "Yes, but..."

He didn't wait for my condition. In a blink he was gone, the screen door slamming belatedly shut behind him. "Can I play with him the next time he comes, Mommy?"

I turned to see two little spies in the doorway. My face flushed and I wondered how much they had seen - then tried hard not to think about that, before Addie could pick up on it. I thought about how Bill used to let the kids ride around on his back when they were smaller and use him as a climbing frame, how he used his super human strength to throw them around. "I don't think Mr Northman is a playing kind of vampire. But you can say hello, because that's polite."

I could feel the complex snarl of Sam's mind. Addie could as well, and she bolted for the back door with Cody hot on her heels. Thoughts of Eric had left their minds in favour of tackling their Daddy and demanding a bedtime story. My husband kissed my cheek as he ushered the children towards the stairs. I sat smiling a sad little smile and thinking about the day we got married.

It had been the dark before the dawn when I woke to see Pam looming over me as I slept. "Goddamit, Pam! You made me jump out of my skin!"

"Sorry," she said smoothly, not sounding a bit like she meant it, "I wasn't sure how to wake you. I've come with your wedding gift."

I smiled, remembering what would be happening in the morning and delighted to feel no jitters what so ever.

Pam leaned over me and brushed her cool lips against my forehead. "From Karin," she said, and my eyes drifted closed. Next she kissed my cheek, a firmer, more familiar touch with lingering affection. "From me," she said.

Then her lips were brushing against mine. Were I more awake, more alert, I might have pulled away. But I didn't, and Pam's lips lingered, moist and cool against mine. Tilting her head, she pressed her lips more firmly against mine, but she did not deepen the kiss further. "And that one is from-"

"I know who it's from," I whispered, my eyes still closed. Bitter pain tainted my joy, quickly turning to anger that he would ruin this day for me; that he would not even ruin it personally, but send Pam to do it for him.

When I opened my eyes, Pam seemed oblivious. She was smiling and pleased feline smile, and ran her tongue deliberately over her lips. "Fairy," she sighed. I rolled my eyes, though could feel a smile creeping back onto my face. "This is from him as well. He told me to stay and make sure you read it. Then you can go back to sleep."

Pam dropped a small envelope onto the blanket. I picked it up, figuring it would be best to get it over with. Inside was a single folded sheet of paper, and his familiar handwriting. It said, 'Today by your laws and traditions you will belong to another. But in my heart you will always be mine. With love, respect and felicitations, Eric."

I nodded at Pam, feeling both sad and happy in a way that only Eric could make me feel.

"Congratulations, Sookie. You will be radiant. I only wish I could see." Pam pressed another parting gift to my cheek, and melted into the shadows.

I hadn't read that note again since. I hadn't told anyone about it. It had been slipped, in a quiet moment in the early hours of that morning, into the secret compartment that had hidden Gran's final letter to me - and there it had stayed. I thought of that note, and wondered that I hadn't realised at the time that, were it possible, Eric would come back to me. Now all I needed to do was decide what I was going to do about it ... And what to tell Sam.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Later that night, when the house was quiet and the children were safely tucked into bed, I made love to my husband. I wouldn't say that sex had become perfunctory, but as I lay with my head on Sam's chest and my fingers combing through his chest hair, which had begun to turn grey, I tried to remember the raw passion of our coupling when we were first together. It had been wild and exciting and new. It had been hot, in a good way. He had driven me crazy with just a look, just a growl, just the feel of his hardness pressed against me. But the advent of children had made everything more hurried and, in a way that surprised me, less special. The butterflies in my tummy still fluttered when Sam gave me _that_ look, but the crashing orgasms that had accompanied every love making session in my twenties became scarcer and scarcer as our time together became more common, more familiar.

I didn't mind, not at all. Having sex with Sam had always been fantasy material, and if I didn't come every time, that wasn't a problem. We were happy.

"I had a visitor this evening," I said softly. We kept our voices hushed. Cody was set to be a shifter, just like his Daddy, and his hearing was exceptional. Sometimes the softest noise would wake him.

"Did Jason finally drop our mower back?" Sam asked. I felt his lips brush my hair as he spoke. "That lawn is going to turn into a jungle if I can't go over it soon."

"No," I said. "It wasn't Jason."

He waited for me to answer, but I didn't know how to tell him. "Well, who was it then? Or do I have to go through a mental list of everyone in Bon Temps?"

_You still wouldn't guess_, I thought. "I'm thinking how to put it," I said aloud, "I don't want you to be mad."

"At you, Cher? Never." He kissed the top of my head and I smiled. "Who was it?"

"It was Eric."

In the silence that followed I knew Sam was mad, even if it wasn't directed at me. I could feel it radiating from him in angry black waves. I flattened my palm against his chest and pushed myself up so I could look into his eyes. Just as I'd been trying to decide how to tactfully say my ex-husband had been to see me, I could tell that Sam was trying to work out how to tactfully ask me how the eff this little visit had come about.

"Are you ok?" he asked, and I had one of those moments where my heart melted into a surge of love for him all over again.

"I'm dandy," I said, "You don't need to worry about me."

Except that, if Eric was right, he did need to worry about me. He needed to worry about me and Addie and Hunter, and anyone else with a talent the Louisiana vampires could exploit. But that would wait.

"And what did he want?"

I lay back against the cool cotton pillows and shrugged. "He wanted to see me. Wanted to re-open a friendship." Sam snorted at that, and I couldn't help feeling a frisson of anger. "And why would that be funny? I'm friends with Bill and you've never minded, so far as I can tell - and I can tell pretty far, even with you."

"Bill's about as decent as a vampire can get. Eric? I don't think Eric would know what friendship was if he sank his teeth into it and drained it dry - which would probably be his first reaction."

Frowning at him, I felt my jaw clench as anger rose up inside of me. "Well, I told him he was welcome to come see me. I _assumed_ that wouldn't be a problem."

Trying not to be melodramatic, and probably failing miserably, I rolled away from him and wrapped an arm around my pillow, holding it to my cheek. Sam sighed behind me and wrapped an arm around my waist. "Sook … be careful."

"Mmm," I said. And he could translate that however he damn well pleased.

We didn't say another word about it the next morning, and everything reset to our normal routine. We made breakfast for the kids and ushered them out the door to play in the sun. School holidays were for enjoying the good weather, not for holing up in the dark with television and video games. They were sent off with bottles of sun protection and told to come back dirty and tired before it got dark.

This was how our days passed at that time of year. We took it in turns to go open up the bar, sometimes letting Kennedy do it so we could have some family time in the garden. But for the most part we saw each other at night and in the morning, then my days and evenings were my own time or spent working.

I was only a little disappointed when Eric didn't come on the first evening I had to myself, nor the second, nor the third. But I did not lack for things to do. I had learned some years before that a family house is a busy house, and there is always something to take your mind from your worries. And I didn't lack for visitors. Hunter would stop in on his way home from college and do his damnedest to eat me out of house and home; Tara brought over the twins sometimes, and we set the kids to entertaining each other so we could share a bottle of wine and get rosy cheeked. Bill came over for his weekly visit (he liked to see the children often, as he had missed his own children growing up and the tiny changes I didn't even notice on a day to day basis fascinated him).

"Did you know Eric's back in town?" I asked him, once the children were distracted with his vamp-cyclopedia. The Database had been published, with the permission of the vampires it contained, and the kids liked to make a game of picking a vamp name at random and quizzing Bill on his or her history. Personally, I thought Bill made half the stuff up, but it kept the children entertained so we could talk while they spent time picking a 'good' name.

Bill's face was usually hard to read, but the thundercloud that passed over his features at that question was crystal clear. "Yes, I did. He has been to see you, I'm guessing? I advised against it."

I cocked my head to one side, mulling that over while Bill reeled off an anecdote about Consuela the Destroyer.

"You thought I'd swoon into his arms and let him fly me back to Oklahoma where we'd live happily ever after?" I asked, with a wry smile. Bill had the good grace to look guilty. "Is it so hard for vampires to recognise the differences between a woman who's twenty-something and forty-something?"

He shrugged with one shoulder. "To someone a thousand years old - or even a couple of hundred - twenty years is nothing. You're older … but you're still impulsive. And you still follow your heart."

I had a sneaking feeling Bill was trying to flatter his way out of that one, but I let it slide.

"Were you pleased to see him?" Bill asked, carefully not looking at me.

"I don't know," I answered as honestly as I could. "It was a surprise. I honestly didn't think I'd ever see him again." I thought for a moment, and realised that, once again, I hadn't really answered the question. "It brought back a lot of memories - some of them good and some of them bad. I think it will be a good thing to move on from that past. To get to a point where I can see him without immediately thinking of the way things used to be."

"Like us?" Bill asked.

"Like us," I agreed. It was a compliment, but I knew he would not take it that way. Well, more fool Bill. "You don't seem delighted to see him back."

"Nor am I. Nor should you." Bill was conscious of the children, though Adele had taken the heavy leather bound time and was engrossed, while Cody tried to get a look in over her shoulder. "You need to think, Sookie. Eric might have saved you from being harassed by vampires who wanted to exploit your gift. But who exploited it in the first place?"

I looked Bill in his holier than thou face and without an ounce of regret said, "That would be you, oh Procurer of the Queen." Vampires don't blush, but they sure can look uncomfortable when they know they've been caught out.

"Mommy!" Adele interrupted, before they could apportion blame any further. "Mommy, I found him. He's here!"

"Who, sweetie?" I asked, kneeling down on the floor beside Adele with a sinking feeling. There he was, in all his glory. Well, not _all_ his glory, but still looking mighty easy on the eyes in a tuxedo at the opening of Fangtasia.

"Eric Northman, consort of Freyda - is that how you say it? Queen of Oklahoma." Adele paused and frowned at her mother. "Oklahoma doesn't have a queen."

"I think Uncle Bill needs to take his book home now. It's past time for bed."

"But wait, Mom, there's more," Cody chimed in. "'Formerly sherif of Area Five, Louisiana. previous spouse, S. Stackhouse."

I glared at Bill for all I was worth. He might have got consent from every vampire mentioned in that book, but he sure hadn't been so careful about the humans. "Well, fancy that," I ground out, closing the book and handing it back to Bill. "We must have cousins in the state. Or maybe an ancestor." I sent up a little prayer of thanks they hadn't come across any dates.

I was aware of Adele focussing on me, and concentrated on wanting Bill to gt out of our house without thinking about the reason why. "Say goodnight to Uncle Bill."

Adele wrapped her arms around Bill's leg while Cody, a head taller, hugged Bill's waist. It really was a very sweet sight, but I wasn't in the mood to forgive Bill straight away. He could just go on home without a hug from me.

It was a Saturday night, so there was no way the kids were staying up to see Sam when he got home. I left Cody reading in bed while I tucked Adele in, smoothing the blankets over her chest.

_You used to be married to Mr Northman?_

Let me tell you something about living with a telepath. It doesn't matter how careful you are to keep something out of your head. Eventually you're going to thing about it, even if only for a split second, if only to think 'don't think about it', and then the cat's out of the bag and you can't put it back again.

_It was a long time ago, sweetie. And not like your Daddy and I are married. Not proper married._

Addie looked serious and puzzled. _How can you be married but not proper married?_

I took a deep breath, simply not knowing how to answer the question. Adele reached out and took my hand. Together, we had learned a lot about our telepathy. Teaching Adele to use it responsibly, to control it, to hide it had taught me an awful lot. And we had learned that, if Adele really focused hard when she touched people, she could see more clearly the subtleties of their mind. Fragments of thoughts, abstract ideas, memories. She was already stronger in that respect than I would ever be - but it sure came in handy when there was a concept I didn't have the words to explain.

She rifled through my mind, I could feel her probing and didn't struggle against it. I thought of the day Mustafa Khan gave me the vampire ceremonial dagger, of laying it before Eric in front of his boss Victor and Eric later explaining what it meant. I thought of some of our happy times together, conjured up the fears I had always harboured that Eric would want to change me, how it felt to be bonded to him and then suddenly have that connection severed.

_He's different than Daddy_, Adele concluded. Apparently she could no more put our relationship into words than I could. _Is he better than Daddy?_

_Not better, just different._ We had had the 'different not better' conversation when Adele went through a phase of worrying that Sam and I loved certain people - children, each other - more or less than others.

"It was a long time ago," I said quietly, gently extracting my hand from hers so my mind could be my own again. "And its all passed now. Don't worry about it. Sleep, baby girl." I kissed her forehead and stroked her hair back from her forehead.

We're the same shade of blonde, I thought. All three of us.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

It had been long enough since Eric's little visit that I had begun to think that he had given up on his desire to be a part of my life. Not that I had time to worry about it, between the kids being off school and the bar being crammed through the balmy days, and the aircon breaking down at home. It was during repetitive domestic tasks, like folding laundry or washing the dishes, that he started to creep back into my mind. I'd gnaw my lip and look out the window into the dark, wondering if he would come tonight.

It was a Sunday lunchtime, and about two thirds of my tables were occupied. They were keeping me plenty busy between filling pitchers and taking lunch orders. Maybe that's how I failed to notice a familiar face walk through the door. It was only when I went back behind the bar to fix a round of iced tea that I saw him sitting there. Sweltering hot as it was, he still wore his long leather coat. A smile tugged at me. "Well hey there, Mustapha. How was Oklahoma?"

"Hot," he said simply, his expression as serious as ever.

Mustapha Kahn was Eric's daytime guy back when we were together. It's not usually a long-term post, but I wasn't surprised to see Mustapha still around. For one thing, he knew how to take care of himself. And for another, it wasn't easy for a werewolf with a criminal record to find well-paid long-term employment.

"Can I fix you a drink?" I asked.

"Thanks, Sookie, but I won't be staying. Eric sent me to tell you to come to Fangtasia tonight at full dark."

The sunny smile on my face became forced and false. Perhaps twenty years passed in a flash for a vampire and they couldn't perceive any change in the world, but if Eric Northman thought he could order me around like a lovesick twenty year old with nothing better to do he had another thing coming.

"No, I won't be doing that."

"Won't?" Mustapha repeated, the faintest trace of a smile twitching at the corners of his lips. The werewolf was happy enough to take a vampire's money, but I doubted they'd made any headway into a friendly relationship since they were last in Louisiana.

"I'll be handing over my tables at about six, and then spending the evening with my family. There's a fair just outside of town and I promised the kids we'd all go tonight." I smiled sweetly, picking up my tray of iced teas. "You can tell Eric my number hasn't changed. If he wants to see me, he can call and check I'm free _in advance_."

I didn't stay to wait for an answer - I was too darn angry.

As it happened, choosing the fair with my family was precisely the right decision. It was a warm night with a gentle breeze, so neither Sam nor I were struck by that lethargy that sometimes hit on a hot evening. Sam shot tin cans with an air rifle to win the kids a giant panda. I went on the rickety old Ferris wheel with Cody, trying to blank out the thoughts of the Carnies on the health and safety status of the ride. We all ate cotton candy and corn dogs and popcorn till we couldn't move, and I was glad we'd decided to walk from Hummingbird road. It was a chance to walk off all the junk and at least pretend I'd made up for it.

Strolling through the woods, the kids pulled on our hands and tried to persuade us to detour via Uncle Bill's house. Sam looked at me and shrugged, but I was beat and the huge numbers of people and their thoughts had given me a headache. "You go ahead," I said, "I need my bed."

Sam gave me The Look. While he was fine with Bill, they were not precisely best buds. Shifters and weres weren't keen on vampires, and that was a difficult prejudice for Sam to overcome. Still, the kids pulled each of his hands, and he was reluctantly dragged off deeper into the woods.

Before long they were out of earshot, and I was on my own in the woods. Now, don't get me wrong, it can be spooky out there at night. I've been in a lot of scrapes and had some nasty experiences out there. But on that night the supernatural world and all its dangerous baggage were far from my mind. I was just thinking of getting home and soaking my feet and changing into loose clothes.

With this in mind, I couldn't help sighing when my house came into sight and I saw a bright red Corvette parked out front. Just a little closer and I saw the tall, pale blonde leaning against it.

"Been having fun, have we?" Eric said once I was close to.

I sighed and made straight past him for the door. "Oh, keep your smart comments until I've put down this darn panda." I pushed open the screen door with my elbow - we never locked up any more, there were enough wards around to keep the house safe - and let it slam behind me, surprised that Eric wasn't hard on my heels. "Are you coming in?" I yelled.

"I'd love to, but my invitation seems to have been rescinded."

I frowned, looking back to see Eric standing just outside the screen looking unimpressed. I sighed. Of course, Sam would have removed Eric's invitation. I should have thought of that. "Eric, you're invited."

He was in front of me at lightning vampire speed. "You told the shifter," he said.

"We'll, yes. He's my husband, I don't keep secrets from him."

Eric cocked his head to one side. "That wasn't _my_ experience of being your husband."

Even at the ripe old age of forty-five I could still blush - who knew? I dumped the various bits and pieces from the fair onto the kitchen table. "Blood is in the refrigerator, help yourself." Purposely turning my back on him, I filled a washing up bowl with cold water from the tap and set it on the floor, pulling out a chair and kicking off my shoes. I sank my feet into the cold water and sighed with relief. Only then did I look up at the vampire who had not moved. He just stood staring at me, his face unreadable. "Well, what was so important?"

"I might ask you the same thing. I don't summon you lightly. You should have come to Fangtasia as I asked."

"You mean as your employee instructed. It's not going to work that way any more. I just thought you needed to realise that." Eric took in a breath on purpose, so he could sigh in exasperation. When dealing with vampires sometimes my eyes just can't roll enough. "So if what you've got to say is important you should probably spit it out, cos I'm about ready to fall asleep upright."

"What I'm going to say to you is something that I had wanted you to have a say in. But your prior engagement meant I had to carry on without you." He pulled a chair out from the kitchen table and pulled it up opposite me as my heart sank. "How much has dear Uncle Bill told you about the comings and goings in Louisiana?"

I looked Eric right in the eye. "Bill hasn't told me anything. He respects my decision to stay away from supernatural politics."

For just a moment Eric glanced at my wedding ring. It didn't matter that I couldn't read his mind. I could see he was wondering how marrying a shifter had kept me away from the supes. "Then Bill is a fool. However much it might inconvenience you, Sookie, you have a history of being very useful to my kind. You are a desirable commodity, and you have my agreement with Freyda to thank for your quiet life the last twenty years." I thought about what Eric had said on his last visit, about twenty years being nothing to a vampire. Of course, it was too much to expect that they would just forget I existed. "That agreement died when Freyda met the true death. You are lucky I came back to Louisiana before Felippe de Castro found out, or I would not have been able to protect you."

"But you _can_ protect me?" I asked, trying to get Eric to cut to the chase.

Eric spread his hands in a gesture which was a little too vague for my liking. "This is why I wanted you at Fangtasia tonight. I would have had you have your say. As it was, I had to assume which of two evils you would choose. And I know you well enough to know that whatever I have chosen, you will not like it."

"Just tell me the worst."

"You will assist Felippe when he requires it, within reason. You will be paid for your services in money or kind, whichever you prefer. You will not have direct contact with any vampire you don't wish to see."

I snorted, my tiredness showing. "So what, you're gonna send me smoke signals? Morse code? Shine a Sookie symbol into the sky?"

"I will be your handler and liaison."

My eyes widened as I processed the implications. I was a vampire lackey again. I was involved in their community. My life would potentially be in danger - hell, would almost certainly be in danger, all the time. And this was assuming no vampire turf war broke out over my ability. And this was the better option? But of course, it put me conveniently in constant contact with Eric, and I was wise enough by now to know that that was no coincidence.

"And what was the other option? _Actual_ servitude?"

Eric lent forward, staring at me intently. "The alternative was arranging for your children to be tested to see if they had inherited your gift."

I swallowed. My voice had a quaver as I spoke. "I would never consent to that. It would be kidnap, the vampires responsible would be prosecuted."

"The vampires responsible have lawyers and connections you can't even imagine. There would be no charges, and trying too hard could make things even worse for you."

Though I didn't want to admit it, I knew he was right as I thought about the implications. They'd take them without leaving a trace of who they were. I already had a reputation of mental stability when I was younger. So crazy Sookie goes to the police and tells them her kids were kidnapped by vampire royalty because they could hear people's thoughts. I'd be lucky just to lose custody of them. Persistence could land me in a mental institute.

"I want to re-negotiate," I said quickly.

"Then you should have come when I summoned you."

I clenched my jaw, irritated but knowing that Eric was my only hope of working this out in any way that would mean I could still live my life and keep my children safe. "I don't need money," I carried on regardless. "The bar is doing well and I have an annuity that pays for everything I need. You can pay me with two promises. First, I want my kids completely off the table, no one touches them."

"That should not be a problem, if you are agreeable."

Not the ideal answer, but it would do until I could work out an insurance policy. "And I need to know that I can do whatever you all are expecting me to do without Sam knowing. This means no, "Sookie, you need to be in Shreveport in two hours," or, "Sookie, you have to come to a big vampire conference for a week and buy all new clothes". That's not going to happen. And as my _handler_ I expect you to respect that."

Eric raised an eyebrow. "You intend to keep your involvement a secret?" he asked.

"That's none of your damn business, but I need for you to respect my family commitments, even if they seem trivial to you."

"I cannot make a guarantee of that point. I can only promise to do my best."

I sighed, suddenly exhausted again. "Well, if your best is anywhere near as good as it used to be, that's enough for me."

His cool blue eyes were regarding me with scrutiny. "You are tired." He took a small cell phone from his pocket and placed it on the kitchen table. "I will text you when I need to see you again. I am the only person with this number."

I nodded, taking the phone off the table and slipping it into my back pocket.

Eric leaned forward and kisses me quickly on the lips. Not the long lingering kisses we used to share, like the one Pam left me from him before my wedding. Just a chaste peck. I tried not to feel disappointed.

"Eric?" I called, just as he was about to leave. "You made the right choice. Thank you."

He nodded once and left. I heard the Corvette revving up out the front, and then its rumble grew softer as it retreated back to Shreveport. Not ten minutes later the rabble returned home, and I focussed all my attention on them. Doubtless I would elt down my guard sooner or later, but I wanted to keep this unpleasant bit of news from Adele for as long as possible.


End file.
